Tennessee

Alabama

Foreign registration · no form number

Tennessee Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

A corporation formed in Tennessee that wants to do business in Alabama files an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama may ask for Tennessee's Certificate of Existence ($20). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division from your Tennessee records, then serve as your registered agent there for year one.

Tennessee and Alabama side by side

	Tennessee formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Tennessee Certificate of Existence	Foreign Corporation Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$20	$184 at order (filing fee $150 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Tennessee: online or by mail	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	sos.tn.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $20, every year	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Agent	Your Tennessee registered agent	Our Alabama registered agent

From Tennessee to Alabama, step by step

We prepare and file the registration
It names us as your Alabama registered agent, with your Tennessee name and formation date. If Alabama wants the Tennessee certificate, it is ordered first. After approval, your Tennessee corporation is registered with Alabama.

Will your Tennessee name work for Alabama?

If Alabama's records show it taken, you can use an alternate name for the Tennessee company. Alabama can hold a name for $25 before you file.

Agents: Alabama and Tennessee

Tennessee and Alabama both call it a registered agent. Your current registered agent stays for Tennessee; ours takes Alabama's papers and notices.

Staying in good standing in Tennessee and Alabama

Tennessee wants the Annual Report every year ($20); Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, Tennessee to Alabama

An LLC formed in Tennessee files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come Tennessee's Annual Report ($300) and Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report. See the LLC filing.

The other way: Alabama into Tennessee

A corporation formed in Alabama that registers with Tennessee files Form SS-4431 with $600 in state fees, plus the Certificate of Existence ($25). See that filing.

Questions Tennessee owners ask about Alabama

Does my Tennessee company need to register in Alabama?

Yes, once a Tennessee business operates there; Alabama registers it as a foreign corporation.

Is this a certificate of authority?

Alabama calls it registration for Tennessee corporations; other states say certificate of authority.

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

$383 at checkout; Alabama may also want Tennessee's Certificate of Existence, at extra cost.

What are the yearly costs for Tennessee and Alabama?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), Tennessee's report ($20) and Alabama's report (fee set by the state).

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

Yes: the Tennessee registered agent stays, and ours covers Alabama for year one, with a street address there.

Will Alabama accept my Tennessee name?

Yes, if no company there has it; if one does, it uses an alternate name there and keeps its Tennessee name at home.

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

Yes, but Tennessee keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files Alabama's Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), and the original keeps Tennessee's Annual Report.

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

Tennessee companies leave by filing a Foreign Corporation Certificate of Withdrawal; until then, Alabama's report stays due alongside Tennessee's filings.

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC